People's Edit
Living the Faith amidst the COVID Pandemic
Opinion | People's Edit | Joseph M Thohrii | 14-Jan-2021
“Many Christians grow up in Church, but never grow in Christ. They know Hymns but they don’t know ‘HIM’.” (Anonymous)
It’s been a year since the global pandemic corona virus has brought the world to a standstill. Apart from loss of lives due to the virus, sense of apprehension and uncertain future has traumatised mankind just as salt was being added to a wound. Prolong lockdowns, a regulation we never experienced in our life, has almost completely altered the way we perceived life. Feeling lonely and dejected, yet fearful to socialise and reluctant to hug or grip hands of even our dear and near ones in affection for fear of infecting or being infected. The inexplicable fear psychosis in our minds and an all-time low self-esteem has reduced us into a species loath with pessimism. In other words, our life and life style have undergone a drastic change. We are socially, mentally, economically and financially shattered. Most importantly, we our spiritual drained of our faith.
Ever since the lockdown, places of worship, including Churches had remained closed. Does this mean that our beliefs and our faith are also locked down and shut down? This lockdown is no doubt a ‘testing time’ of our faith as Christians. The Church in our general understanding is a sacred and holy place of worship. However, we must be also able to see the Church as a community of believers, who are active and vibrant in faith and in action. During this lockdown, various communities belonging to different faith have served humanity in some form or the other. The Sikh community so far has stood out tall, walked the extra miles, touched the lives of others and impressed humanity by their works, because Sikhs across the world had fed thousands people in their Gurudwaras. They also fed thousands on the streets, including the migrant labourers, reached out to the homeless and the poor across religion and community. So yeomen were their services to humanity, that Governments of Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have officially applauded their humanitarian service. The question is what made the Sikh community so committed to doing the extraordinary in this extraordinary crunch time? I would like to believe that it was the philosophy of Sikhism with regards to sharing, caring and daring, that motivated them. It was the translation of their faith into action, living the faith through real life experience. It was the willingness to struggle not only for oneself, but also for others that pushed them into doing something that was commendable.
Christian faith must also be a lived experience of the gospel teachings. We should be the fifth gospel for those who have not read the four gospels and be the living gospel message for others with our way of living. Churches are locked doesn’t mean our prayers will be unheard by God. Christian family is also a small church and this church should be alive, vibrant and active during this pandemic. Uncertainties lie ahead but hope in God should be unwearied. As Christians the pandemic crisis should not allow to ‘define’ us rather the crisis must be able to ‘refine’ us as Christians. We need a strong and positive mind set to come out of this crisis. What is most ironic as a Christian and as follower of Christ is that we go to Church more out of fear rather than out of faith. This pandemic is the time to showcase our faith as dynamic Christian, refine oneself as transformed Christian and come out stronger mentally, emotionally and physically to face the realities of the world, thus living the faith and setting an example for others to imitate and follow.
(The Author is a Priest in the Archdiocese of Imphal and can be reached on mtjo89@gmail.com. Views expressed are personal)
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